


One Night Only

by helens78



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Casual Sex, Epic Bromance World Tour, Gay Mutant Road Trip, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-09
Updated: 2013-06-09
Packaged: 2017-12-14 09:38:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/835452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helens78/pseuds/helens78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charles and Erik have one fantastic night together.  Which seems to be all Erik wants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Night Only

They fuck once, close and almost silent, in the compound after Erik comes back. It's one of those rare nights where Charles gets a little bit of everything-- he starts with his hand on Erik, and then his mouth, and somewhere along the way he digs up a little bit of surgical lube stolen and repurposed and lets Erik fuck him, lets Erik have him bent over the edge of the ridiculous narrow bed. Erik reaches around, but only after he's come, and he sounds so heartfelt when he says, "Oh, sorry," that Charles laughs.

He's not expecting Erik to offer himself up, not at all. He has the impression from Erik's memories-- the ones he read, before Erik told him _stay out_ \-- that Erik doesn't do a lot of this... well, not from this side. It's absurd for Charles to feel as though that makes him special, he of all people knows that _everyone_ can be special in the moment, but still-- when Erik shivers underneath him, when Charles watches the flex and twist of his muscles, hears the way he muffles his groans as Charles takes him, he's sure this is more to Erik than just another night's fuck.

He wakes up alone, and Erik doesn't mention it that day. Or that night. Or the next. Or when they're on the road.

Charles doesn't know what that's about, but he figures he can wait Erik out. Sometimes people are strange about sex, and whatever else is going on, Erik doesn't flinch away from him, doesn't seem to mind being close. Charles decides he can give it time.

\---

"Listen," Erik says quietly, catching Charles by the arm. "I'm going to be a little late back to the room tonight. All right?"

"Of course," Charles says, smiling up at him. "An errand?"

Erik blinks at him and glances back over his shoulder, at the door to the bar they just walked out of. It hasn't been their best day; they were told in no uncertain terms to fuck off by one of the mutants they approached, and haven't been able to find the other one here in Alberta-- but when Charles looks behind Erik, his face breaks into a grin. "You convinced Logan to give us another chance?"

"No, he's quite sure he doesn't want to join us. I'm just going to--"

Behind Erik, Logan shifts his weight from one leg to the other, and tilts his head back, sniffing the air, narrowing his eyes. Charles cuts right back at him, lifting out his surface thoughts, the last five minutes of--

"Oh," Charles says dully. "Right."

"I should be back by midnight."

"Take your time," Charles offers, looking away. "I'll just-- be here."

"Right." Erik claps him on the arm. "We'll get an early start in the morning."

"Yes." Charles swallows. "Have fun."

Erik pauses for a moment, but then he's off, walking back to Logan, climbing onto-- for pity's sake, onto the back of Logan's motorcycle. They take off, motorcycle roaring between their legs. Erik's leaning with the turns, stuck to Logan, and Charles reads Logan's satisfaction until they're out of his range.

Midnight. So Erik said. Charles stays up, watching the hours tick by, so he knows it's closer to one-thirty when the locks click obediently open for Erik's ability.

Erik looks surprised to see Charles awake. "Thought you'd be asleep by now."

"Not so tired," Charles says, which is of course when his stupid _body_ betrays him by coming up with a huge yawn. "Well. Maybe a bit, now I know you're safe."

"I was fine," Erik says, slipping his leather jacket off and hanging it over the back of the motel chair. "I'm fine."

"And Logan?"

Erik doesn't answer that. He doesn't even turn to look at Charles. He just goes into the bathroom and shuts the door behind him. Charles grits his teeth and keeps his mind to himself.

\---

It's going to be just like Alberta, Charles can feel it, and he can't stand it, he really can't. He'd like to pull that beautiful auburn-haired mutant right away from Erik's side; he'd like to tell her _hands off, I saw him first_.

Instead, he waits up, and when Erik comes home with his hair mussed and his lips stained red, Charles rolls over on his back, facing the wall while Erik cleans up.

\---

They take separate rooms in the next town, and Charles brings home not one but _two_ dazzling skiers, one blonde, one a redhead. Erik's expression darkens, but it's his choice, isn't it, not to take up Charles's time himself. Charles doesn't let himself regret it for an instant.

Erik's at his door bright and early the next morning, but Charles is already dressed, his skiers long gone and more or less forgotten. At the very least, Charles isn't prepared to give them another thought.

"Montana next," Erik says. Charles nods. "Come on, then."

\---

At least Erik never spends the night with anyone twice. Even the mutants they successfully recruit, the ones who spend two or three days with Charles and Erik before they're sent back to Virginia, for assignment... even then, if there's a first night with Erik, there isn't a second.

It's a relief that _maybe_ it isn't just him, but Charles still hates every single one of them, the ones who have Erik now, after he's learned to smile, to have a drink with a friend, to let go a little. What is he like in bed now that he's starting to have _fun_?

He's unlucky enough to catch the expression on one young man's face as he leaves Erik's room one night. Apparently whatever Erik gets up to these days, it's enough to leave somebody limping and smiling, giving up waves of smug satisfaction that a sufficiently-powerful telepath can feel from a good three blocks away.

\---

It's not like Charles couldn't make himself look like someone else. He could fool Erik; he could make Erik think they were happily screwing this whole time, that Charles was the love of his life, that they were destined to be together. Never mind how badly Charles wants some of that to be true; he could fake it easily enough. Erik would never even know.

He could dig into Erik's mind, find out what Erik wants every time he goes back to his motel room with someone new. He could shake loose all of Erik's secrets, read his fantasies, give him everything he's ever wanted (not that that usually works out very well, but still: he _could_ ).

He could ask for a second chance.

No. No, bad idea. If Erik wanted a second round, he'd have suggested it himself, wouldn't he? No.

He doesn't ask, and he watches Erik go home with one-night-trick after one-night-trick, and he picks at his dinners and drinks too much coffee and wishes, a little, that he'd never agreed to this road trip in the first place.

\---

The flare of fury and fear in Erik's mind catches Charles's attention all the way from the other side of the bar, and Charles is making his way to the men's room as soon as he feels it, freezing the-- whoever it is-- freezing him in place, dropping him to the ground.

When he walks in, Erik's got his clothes back together, and his jaw's set. "I could have handled that myself," he says, eyes narrowed as he looks at Charles. "I thought you said you were going to stay out of my head."

"I have been," Charles snaps back. "You might as well have sent up a signal flare, it was so loud--"

"I was fine. Look at this place." Erik casts a hand around, and the entire men's room shakes, the metal doors of the stalls, the sink fixtures, the frame of the mirror. "I would have been fine."

Charles glances at the man on the floor, his trousers and pants down around his thighs. Erik came here for whatever this man offered; Charles has no idea what he said or did in order to make Erik change his mind so abruptly, so vehemently. He's tempted to dig it out of the man's mind, and then obliterate it, make him over so he'll never hurt or scare anyone again. Maybe he shouldn't, maybe that isn't a power he should have, but-- _Erik_ \--

Erik grabs Charles by the arm and tugs Charles around to face him. "It's over," Erik says roughly. "I'm leaving. Are you coming with me or not?"

He is. He does. Erik's long legs eat up the pavement; Charles nearly has to run to keep up. He reaches out and touches Erik's shoulder, when they're stuck at a crossing, and Erik doesn't shake him off. Charles pushes his luck and squeezes, and he's startled when Erik leans further into his touch.

"I'm sorry. That it went wrong," Charles tries. Erik's jaw tightens, and the light changes, and he's off again-- but it isn't far to their motel now, thank heavens.

Charles surprises himself when he follows Erik into his room. Erik glances at him, and then nods, some of the tension coming out of his shoulders. "Stay," Erik says. "I want you to."

It's impossible to know how he means that without reading him. Charles stays put, jams his hands into his pockets so he won't do anything stupid like reach for Erik against his will-- Erik's had enough of that tonight. "If you want to talk about it..."

"I don't want to talk," Erik says. He comes forward, and Charles draws in a breath, because if he were anyone else, if this were anywhere else, he'd think-- he'd think this was going to be--

It _is_. Erik's mouth is hot on Charles's, and Charles moans, giving himself up to it. He gets his hands out of his pockets and pulls Erik close to him, one arm around Erik's waist, the other going up to the back of his neck.

"I don't usually--" Erik says, drawing back a little. "But you're-- it was different with you--"

"I should damn well hope so," Charles says, his throat tight. "Whatever happened tonight, it will _never_ happen with me. I promise, Erik."

Erik snorts. "I know that much," he says. His hands move up, cup Charles's face. Charles closes his eyes. Erik's hands are warm, his fingers long and graceful, and Charles has been dreaming about having those hands on him, imagining it night after night.

He's not going to waste the opportunity now. He tilts up into another kiss, and this time it's slower, Erik's lips more tentative. Charles has to coax the kiss from him, but it's not because Erik's reluctant-- it feels more like Erik's forgotten how to kiss and how to touch. And that's absurd, isn't it; hasn't he kept in practice?

When Erik draws back, he licks his lips. "I've never had a second night with anyone," Erik says quietly. "I don't know how to do this."

"We do it one day at a time, if that's what you need," Charles murmurs.

"What do _you_ need?"

Charles bites his lower lip. _How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice._

_How do you get to forever?_

"One day at a time," Charles says, stroking the back of Erik's neck. "And no one else. For either of us."

Erik nods. "I'm willing," he says.

It's a start.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [one night only (the feelings are dangerous remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1345159) by [afrocurl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl)




End file.
